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socrateaser, Lawyer

Category: Real Estate Law

Satisfied Customers: 37971

Experience: Attorney and Real Estate broker -- Retired (mostly)

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If I bought a property with two APN#s and the Appraisal

Customer Question

If I bought a property with two APN#s and the Appraisal report only stated that they were zoned R1... but now 11 months later after purchasing the property I find out one lot is R1 and the other is zoned OA. Can I hold the Appraisal company responsible for the cost (engineering & City fees) to get the second lot rezoned? According to the City the zoning is public record and is readily available information. that they should have disclosed.

There is a California case: Barry v. Raskov, 232 Cal.App.3d 447, 283 Cal. Rptr. 463 (Ct. App. 1991), in which a mortgage broker was held liable for the negligence and/or fraud of the appraiser hired. This case has not been extended to a bank (assuming that you used a bank, rather than a mortgage broker). It seems rather straightforward that if the mortgage broker can be held liable for the appraiser's acts and omissions, then the appraiser can certainly be held directly liable, as well.

So, the answer here is a qualified "yes." You may have a claim against the bank or mortgage broker (as the case may be), and/or directly against the appraiser.

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It was actually a home lender who hired the appraiser. Who do I pursue on this... the lender or the appraisal company?The appraisal company obviously didn't do there job... but since I didn't directly hire them can I purse damages from them?

A competent lawyer will sue everyone who could possibly have any liability, and then let the various parties try to avoid liability by blaming each other. So, you sue both the lender and the appraisal firm.

I see that you have reviewed my answer, but that you have not provided a rating. Do you need any further clarification concerning my answer, or is everything satisfactory?

If you need further clarification, concerning this matter, please feel free to ask. If not, I would greatly appreciate a positive feedback rating for my answer (click 3, 4 or 5 stars) – otherwise, I receive nothing for my efforts in your behalf.Thanks again for using Justanswer!